masterofmagicfandomcom-20200216-history
Ocean
| minerals_arcanus = None | minerals_myrror = None | change_terrain = No effect | gaia's_blessing = No effect }} Ocean is a type of Terrain in the world of Master of Magic. Ocean tiles are by far the most common type of Terrain on both of the Planes, as they fill all of the gaps between the continents and between the poles. Ocean tiles contribute nothing to towns in their vicinity. Of course, since towns cannot be constructed on the Oceans or even on the Shoreline, few towns will have Ocean tiles within their catchment area, and even then only a few such tiles. In any case, new seaside towns should limit the number of Ocean tiles in their catchment area if possible. Ocean tiles never contain any Minerals, and no Terrain Specials of any kind. Furthermore, no magic can change an Ocean tile into any other kind of Terrain. Finally, Ocean tiles are (obviously) considered water tiles rather than land tiles. Thus, movement through Ocean tiles is possible only for , , and Non-Corporeal units. With the exception of this last group, it takes 1 Movement Point for most units to enter an Ocean tile. It is not possible to construct Roads on the Ocean. Description In any world capable of supporting life, it is necessary to have water in significant quantities. This water exists in the air, but has a tendency to coalesce into droplets which fall from the air. Gravity draws the water downwards, and it will either roll of filtrate to the lowest possible altitude. Since the quantity of water is so great, all this water eventually groups together into a vast body referred to as an "ocean". That which we call "land" is only that part of the world that has piled up high enough to remain above the surface of the water. From above, the Ocean seems like a flat blue surface devoid of any features. Inside, however, it is a world teeming with life, disconnected from the world above. Even light cannot penetrate very deep into the ocean, and the depths are completely dark as a result. In our world, it took many centuries of civilization before the oceans could be crossed reliably. In Master of Magic, the technology to cross the Ocean also exists, but is still somewhat primitive. Large vessels utilize the wind to push them through the waves towards their destination. Nonetheless, it is not possible for them to harvest any of the resources that the Ocean has to offer. Fishing is out of the question, as both locating and collecting fish is extremely difficult that far into the water. Thus, fishing is limited to Shores, and cannot take place on the Ocean. As a result, Oceans contribute nothing to the development of population centers. Geography Depending on the choice of land-mass size selected before the game begins, Oceans can cover anywhere between 60% and 90% of the surface of both Planes. The rest is filled with land of various Terrain types, as well as the Shores that surround them. Oceans separate these land-masses into continents. While it is possible to get a world where all land is connected to all other land, it is most common to encounter separate continents - huge islands separated from each other by water. The majority of units cannot cross between them, turning the Ocean into a sort of barrier that also separates empires from one another. In almost all cases, it is possible for an ocean-going unit to reach any Ocean tile from any other Ocean tile. In other words, the Ocean is completely contiguous and unbroken. Ocean tiles will never appear within a landmass. Inland lakes consist entirely of Shore tiles. Town Development Ocean tiles are defined as water terrain. Towns may not be built directly on top of them. They contribute absolutely nothing to a town in their vicinity either. However, since Towns built on the Shoreline will almost always have at least one tile of Ocean in their catchment area, it is important to try and limit the number of these, as each one limits the potential size, growth speed and productiveness of the Town. Maximum Population : Ocean tiles are among the few Terrain types that provide absolutely no bonus to a nearby town's Maximum Population. In other words, if a town were to be surrounded entirely by Ocean tiles, its Maximum Population would be exactly 0. This means that not only will the town not grow at all, it will actually lose a few citizens each turn. Fortunately, negative Population Growth cannot destroy a town (it will never drop below 1,000 population due to negative growth), but it will likely never grow above 1,000 either. Of course, it is not possible for a town to be completely surrounded by Oceans, since towns can only be built on land tiles, and land is separated from Oceans by a layer of Shore tiles. Still, Ocean tiles can appear on the edges of a town's catchment area and are far from desirable. Maximum Population dictates the absolute maximum number of citizens a town can have. Once it reaches this many citizens, it will simply stop growing. Maximum Population also determines the town's rate of Population Growth: the larger the gap between the town's current population and it's maximum population, the faster it grows. Furthermore, Maximum Population also determines how much can be produced in a town before inefficiency sets in. Once this limit of Food production is reached, additional citizens assigned to Farmer duty will produce much less - thus being inefficient. Higher Maximum Population thus means a higher production efficiency threshold, allowing more Farmers to be assigned while still having full efficiency. The absolute lack of contribution of Oceans to Maximum Population means that when building towns on a shoreline, it is important to try and limit the number of Oceans included in the town's catchment area. It is even possible to avoid including any Ocean tiles completely, but this is rare. Common Minerals Since Ocean tiles are essentially filled with water, they never contain any Minerals or in fact any sort of Terrain Specials of any kind. Movement As water-based tiles, Ocean tiles are inaccessible to the majority of units. Such units may not enter an Ocean tile on their own under any circumstance, and must rely on spells or transport units to get across. On the other hand, , , and units can enter Ocean tiles freely. This costs the unit exactly 1 Movement Point. Non-Corporeal units are also able to walk on water, and can enter this tile at a cost of only 0.5 Movement Points. Roads and Road Construction Roads may not be built on top of water-based tiles. This includes Ocean tiles. As a result, it is not possible to speed up movement across Ocean tiles this way. Change Terrain cannot affect any water tiles. It is incapable of changing an Ocean tile into any other type of Terrain. Gaia's Blessing also has no effect on the Ocean tiles near the affected town. It will not alter them in any way. Category:Terrain Types